Hazel’s Gourmet Coffee & Tea is worth a pit stop in St. Joseph

If you’ve never been to a particular coffee shop, there are often a few clues in plain sight that can let you know what to expect. Odds are, you’re in the right place if you see mismatched furniture, there’s a board game seemingly left mid-game on a table and, perhaps most importantly, the smell of roasting coffee wafts out when you open the door.

Hazel’s Gourmet Coffee & Tea (4001 Frederick Avenue) in St. Joseph roasts Arabica beans daily. And the smell is practically ingrained in the wood. When you add in the chess set, where white appears to be beating black in the split dining room, I think it’s fair to say I was predisposed to liking Hazel’s before I stepped up to the counter.